American College of Veterinary Pharmacists > Membership

Standards Of Practice

STANDARDS OF PRACTICE
OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF VETERINARY PHARMACISTS

To be accredited for Full Fellowship, pharmacists must adhere to the Standards of
Practice for Fellows of the American College of Veterinary Pharmacists.

Standard 1

Before dispensing, each prescription shall be
certified by the pharmacist. This certification
includes the pharmacist or intern receiving the
prescription and checking for incompatibilities,
contraindications, proper dosage and compliance
with relevant state, provincial and federal
regulations.

Standard 3

The pharmacist shall be readily accessible for
consultation with veterinarians and their clients
on health-related problems and health-related
products. The pharmacist shall be able to fully
advise veterinarians and their clients on prescription
and non-prescription medications.

Standard 5

The pharmacist shall attend continuing education
programs and read professional publications
to maintain the professional competence necessary
to assure patient safety.

Standard 7

The pharmacist will not be involved in agreements
which provide financial incentives to
prescribers to refer patients or clients for services.

Standard 9

All new prescription medications shall be dispensed
directly by the pharmacist to the veterinarian
or their clients. Complete dosage directions,
precautions, proper storage conditions and
other essential information related to the medicine
shall be explained at the time of dispensing.

Standard 11

A proper professional image shall be presented
by the pharmacist to the public. This image
shall include neat, professional attire; open
display of pharmacy and pharmacist’s license;
and operation of the prescription department in
a clean and orderly manner.

Standard 13

The pharmacist shall maintain a sufficient library
to optimally practice his or her role as drug
consultant. This library shall include references
on toxicology, drug interactions, compounding,
pharmaceutical calculations, animal pharmacology,
medicine and others. In addition to the
toxicology materials, ready access should be
available to the local poison control center.

Standard 15

The pharmacist will encourage public health
officials to develop disaster plans that will include
veterinary care.

Standard 2

Before dispensing, the prescription shall be
certified by the pharmacist. This certification
includes supervision of all personnel in the
prescription department, verification of proper
contents in containers and verification of proper
labels.

Standard 4

The pharmacist shall comply with regulations
promulgated by the State Board of Pharmacy,
other state and federal regulations, and legislative
statutes and have copies of these documents
in the pharmacy. All breeches of these regulations
by others shall be reported to the proper
authorities.

Standard 6

The pharmacist shall have the ability to consult
with prescribers about the proper drug entity
and design of regimens for patients.

Standard 8

Compounded prescriptions shall be prepared
according to “Good Compounding Practices.”
This includes assurance that the medicine is
dispensed with neat labels and explicit and
complete directions. Compounding equipment
should be maintained commensurate with the
scale of compounding performed.

Standard 10

Items of questionable quality shall not be
stocked by the pharmacy. These items include
out-of-date items, mislabeled or unlabeled
drugs, adulterated items, recalled items and
other items deemed questionable by the pharmacist
based upon published reports.

Standard 12

The pharmacist shall serve as a source of health
information to veterinarians and their clients.
The pharmacist shall maintain records which
document the recommendations and counseling
given to veterinarians and their clients.

Standard 14

The pharmacist will monitor activities to assist
federal and state officials and other health professionals
keep illegal drugs out of the human
food chain.

Standard 16

Compounded medications may be dispensed to
veterinarians for office use where state or provincial
legislation and regulations permit. The
pharmacist, using due diligence and best professional
judgment, will not dispense compounded
medications to veterinarians for resale.

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Standards Of Practice

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